Grain-separator.



PATENTED AUG. 1, 1905. L. T. MANN. GRAIN SEPARATOR. APPLICATION FILED smmzo, 1904.

3 snnmsannnr 1. v

IN VE N TOR w/ ZNES 5 5;

No. 796,233. PAT'ENTED AUG. 1 1905;

L. T. MANN.

GRA IN SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20.41904.

7 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AITORNEYS 'I WITNESSES" ANDREW. I, cunuu 00,, PMYO-LITMOGRAFMRG, wAmNGYoN. D. c;

' vPATIINTHD AUG. 1, 1905.

" L'. T. MANN. I

- GRAIN SEPARATOR. I APPLIDA TION FILED 8EPT.20, 1904.'

WITNESS-E: /g w fi ATTORNEYS UN TED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

' LOVIETT TAFT MANN,- OF MOLINE, KANSAS.

. Application filed September 20, 1904- Serial No. 225,212.'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOVIETT TAF'r MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Moline, in the county of Elk and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Grain-Separator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the grain-separating elements of a threshing-machine; and the purpose ofthe invention is to provide a series oflifting-fingers over the chaffer having reciprocating movement in a vertical direction and :means for conducting the straw and grain from the concave and cylinder onto the said fingers, .the rearmost of which fingers deposit the threshed straw upon the raddle, which in its turn conducts thestraw to the delivery end of the thresherx A further purpose of the invention is to provide the concave with an extension-grate leading from the concave I to the lifting-fingers, through which grate the grain loosened in the .concave finds passage to a conveyer, and also to provide a blast-regulating board beneath the the conveyer and the grain delivered from the chaffer to the riddles and; clearlthe grain'lof chafi and at the same time further ,clear the grain from foreign material while on the riddles. i 1

' Another purpose of the invention is to pro- .VlOlG adrift-board over the forward end of the shoe, against which all the grain is blown before being depositeduponthe riddles, said board having diverging grooves upon its underface, so as to spread the grain as ltleaves the board.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of-this specification, in which similar characters of reference 1nd1- cate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a threshing-machine having my improvement applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rear portion of the machine, the top having been removed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of t the shaft fitted to receive a series of lifting- Specification of Letters Patent.

GRAIN-SEPARATOR.

Patented Aug. 1, 1905.

fingers. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through a lifting shaft and asideelevation of a finger secured thereto. Fig. 5 is an end view of the lifting-shaft. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the drift-board. Fig. 7 is a section through the drift-board, taken practically on the line 77 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a frontelevation of the grate adapted as an addition to the concave.

A represents the concave of a threshingmachine; B, the cylinder; 0, the beater, which operates adjacent to thecylinder; E, the raddle, which conducts the straw from the machine, and F is the shoe. hf designates the riddles contained in the s oe.

G represents the grain-auger which receives medium consists of a series of transversely arranged fingers 10, the said fingers being carried by shafts 11, preferably tubular, as shown in'Figs. 1 and 3, the said shafts-.11 being journaled in suitable hearings in the frame or casing or the machine, as is illustrated in Fig. 2. These shafts 11 are arranged at predetermined intervals apart, the distance between the shafts being preferably equal, and each lifting-shaft 11, as the shafts may be termed, is provided with apertures 12, extending through from side to side, as is shown in Fig. 8 The fingers 10, which are slightly curved in a downward direction at their free ends, at their heel portions are provided with shanks 18, which shanks are passed through the apertures 12- in the lifting-shafts 11' and are held inposition by nuts l t, asisolearly illustrated in Fig. 4E. Each lifting-shaft 11 is provided at one end with a collar 15, attached thereto by a set-screw or the equivalent of the same, and at the opposite end of each liftingshaft 11 a spider or stellated attaching member 16 is secured, usually through the medium .of a collar 17 forming a portion of the said device to be hereinafter described.

'stellated or spider member, which collar is either directly secured to the shaft or is detachably connected to it by means of a setscrew or like device, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Furthermore, each member of the spider or stellated attaching member for a lifting-shaft is provided with apertures 18 to facilitate its attachment to an operating The raddle E is of the usual construction, comprising an endless slatted belt 19, which passes over drums 20, suitablymounted in the sides H of the casing of the machine, and the shaft 22,

on which the forward drum 20 is secured, ex-

tends some distance beyond the sides of the casing, as is shown in Fig. 3, and at the lefthand end of this raddle-shaft 22 a pulley 21 is secured, while at the right-hand end of the same shaft a pulley 21 is fastened. Links 23 extend downward from'the lifting-shafts 11, as is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the links at the right-hand side of the easing extending from the first, third, and fifth lifting-shaft at the outside of the casing, while the links at the opposite or left-hand side of the casing extend downward from the second, fourth, and sixth lifting-shaft, as the said fingers 10 are adapted to have vertical movement upward and downward and are driven by the two pulleys 21 and 21 at the ends of the raddle-shaft 22. It may here be remarked that the fingers of one series in their normal position extend over the shaft carrying the fingers of the next series and that the fingers on the rear lifting-shaft 11 extend over the receiving end of the raddle E, as is shown in Fig. 1.

The links 23, at the left-hand side of the machine, are connected byabar 23, and to this connecting-bar, at or near its center, the forward end of a pitman 24 is pivoted, the rear end of the said pitman terminating in a strap which is made to embrace the periphery of an eccentcic 25 on the left-hand end portion of the raddle-shaft 22. The links extending down from the first, third, and fifth liftingshafts 11 at the right of the casing are connected by a bar 26, corresponding to the bar 23, just mentioned, and at or near the center of the said bar 26 a pitman 27 is pivotally attached, which pitman is of the same construc- "tion as the pitman 24 at the opposite side of the machine, terminating at its rear end in a strap which peripherally engages with an eccentric 28 on the raddle-shaft 22. The righthand links for the shafts of the lifting-fingers are shown in Fig. 2 and are therein designated as 26. The lifting-shafts 11 are attached to the links 23 and 26 through the medium of the stellated or spider attaching members 16, carried by the said shaft, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

With reference to the driving mechanism for the raddle and for the lifting-fingers at the left-hand side of the machine, a cross-belt 29 is employed, which is passed over the pulley 21 and over a pulley which is on the shaft of the beater C and then over a suitable pulley 30 on the shaft 50 of the cylinder B, as is shown by broken lines in Fig. 1, and the upper stretch of this belt 29 is held in engagement with the aforesaid pulley on the beatershaft by means of a suitably-placed idler 29. A duplicate belt is located at the right-hand side of the machine, being carried over the right-hand pulley 21 and over a suitable pulley at the right-hand end of the cylindershaft 50. V

I employ anextension of the concave A, which extension is in the form of a grate 30", having a curvature corresponding to that of the said concave, the grate being shown in position in Fig. 1 and in detail in Fig. 8. This grate is provided with a series of apertures 31, (shown clearly in the two figures above mentioned,) and where the grate 30 connects with the concave A a downwardly and rearwardlyinclined conducting-floor 32 is formed, which leads to what may be termed a horizontal pocket 33, in the end walls of which pocket the shaft of a conveyer 34 is mounted to turn, the said conveyer 34 being preferably of a screw type, and at the forward end of the shaft of the conveyer 34, outside of the pocket 33, a bevel-gear 35 is secured, which meshes with a bevel-gear 36 on a shaft 37, mounted in suitable bearings on the bottom portion of the frame or casing of the machine, and this shaft 37 carries a pulley 38, as is shown in Fig. 1.

At the delivery end of the pocket 33, in which the conveyer 34 has movement, a fancasing 38 is located, extending down below the bottom portion of thecasing of the machine. This fan-casing 38 is provided with an opening 39 at its top, which opening communicates with the delivery end of the pocket 33 and islikewise directed to the space below the raddle E, as is shown in Fig. 1. At the rear end of this opening 39 an adjustable guard 40 is attached to the said casing, so as to insure the air being directed in the manner which has been described. Above the upper portion of the pocket 33, at its delivery end and below the chaifer D, a vertical partition 41 is located in the casing, as is shown in Fig. 1, and at the lower end of this partition 41 a blastregulating board 42 is adjustably placed, being preferably hinged to the partition 41, so that the-said blast-regulating board may be changed with relation to the guard 40 in order to more or less concentrate the air which is forced through the fancasing 38 upward. A fan 43, of any suitable construction, is located in the casing 38, and at one end of the fan-shaft outside of the easing two pulleys 44 and 45 are secured. In the said fan-casing at its rear upper portion an opening 46 is provided, which is in direct communication with the shoe F at a point below the riddles f, and the door 47 for this opening 46 when in the .open position (shown in Fig. 1) servesto directthe air passing.

through the said opening 46 in the fan-casing to the said riddles f.

The grain-auger Gr is drivenv by. a belt 48,-

i which passes over the pulley 45 on the fanshaft, and the auger G can be driven by the same belt or by aduplicate of the belt 48, lo-

cated at the opposite side of the machine; but

I desire it ,to be understood that 1 do not confine myself to the particular; arrangementof the d riving-belts and mechanism. In-the fur ther illustration of the, application ,of the driving-belts the fan-shaft is driven .by a belt 49, which passes over the pulley44 on the fan-shaft, which belt is a cross belt and engages with the pulley 38 on. the drive-shaft 36 for theconveyer 34 and is thenpassed upward and forward over asuitable pulley on the shaft50 of the. cylinder. casing of the machine is supported onsuitable forward and rearwheels 5l;, asis shown in Fig. 1-. v

With reference to the chaifer, it is suspend ed in the usual manner. by links 52, pivoted to the casing at the inside thereof, and pins extend out through the casing at the forward end of the chafi'er. Links 53 are piyotally connected with these pins and with the connecting-bars 23 and 26, so that asthe said connecting-bars are operated a corresponding motion isimparted to the chatter. I Just below the raddle E a flooring 54 is located, and from the forward portion of this flooring a downward extension 55 is provided,

to which extension adrift boajrd 5 6 is hinged. This drift board, which is shown in detail in Figs. Band], is adapted to receive the grain,

and as thegrainimpinges onthis drift-board the said board tends to Sc tter the grain over the uppermost riddle. As is particularly shownin Figs. 6 and 7,- this is accomplished byproducing aeseries of grooves57 in: the under face of the board, which are inclined in opposite directions at each side of the center of the board from the frontend in direction of the rear end, so that as the, grain strikes theboard and enters the, said grooves the, mass of grain is separated and distributed as equally as possible. over the upper riddle f.

The shoe F is suspended by links 58, as shown inFig.1.. I,

In the operation of the machine. thestraw is fed to the'concave and cylinder in the ordinary manner, -but is conducted up onto the threshing-fingers 10, which as they move up ward and downward tend toseparate thegrain from thestraw and ,drop -the grain onto the chaffer'D, which in its turndelivers thegrain,

to the' space above theopening 39 in the fancasing, whereit is subjected to the action of the air from the fanj md isdriven-against the drift-board to bescattered onthe riddle. As the straw is passing, out fffronu, the concave. it necessarily passes over the grate 30?, and any directed in turn to the riddles.

The frame or rain which may have been liberated by the action of the cylinder on the concave will pass out through the openings 31 in the grate down the inclined floor 32 to the conveyer 8st, and

as the grain, reaches the outlet of'the pocket '33, in which this conveyer operates, the suction created by the fan at the outlet of the pocket will draw the grain over the opening 39 at the upper portion of the fan-casing, and

the blast of air from the fan will direct the strawafter having been thoroughly threshed.

is conducted outof the machine by the raddle E. .It will be further observed thatthe grain loosenedbetween the concave and cylinder is not lost and does not tend to clog the action of the cylinder, as said grain escapes through the Openings in the grate 30. grain is directed to the riddles, and thegrain All of the as it passes to the riddles is'freed from chaff and is thoroughlyfreed from any foreign material which may still remain. by means of the ,blast of air passing up through the riddles. It may here be mentioned that a bottom 60 is provided for the shoe independent thereof,

extending from the casing for the grain-auger Gr to the' casing for the grain-augerGr, and that the shoe is preferably agitated by links :59, pivoted to the shoe and'pivotally connected with the shaft of the fan.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. ,In a grain-separator, a conveyer, a shoe,

riddles for the'shoe, a drift-board which tends to spread the grain and located above the shoe, a fan-casing below the conveyer and adjacent to the shoe, which casing. is provided with an opening leading to the conveyer and the driftboai'd-andan opening leading into the shoe below the riddles, means for operating the conveyer, the fan and shoe, .a chaifer held to reciprocate above the conveyer, lifting-fingers mounted for vertical reciprocating motion above the chaifer, thesaid fingers being arranged in overlapping series, a mechanism for simultaneously operating the lifting-fingers 1 andchaffer, a draft-board adjustably located at one side of the opening leading from the fanrcasing I to the drift-board, aguard at. the

opposite side of the same opening and a door for the opening in the casing leading into the shoe, which door when openextends into said shoe. r I

2. Ina threshing-machine, a shoe,; a driftboard supported above the shoe, having a se- ;ries' of diverging grooves in its under face,

anda fangcasingv having an opening directed to saiddrift-board and an open ngin'commu- .nlcatlon with said shoe. e 3; In, a: threshlng-machine, the combination.

with a concave and cylinder, and an inclined grain-receiving board extending downward from the inner end of the concave, a conveyercasing meeting the said board, and a conveyer Within the said casing, of a grate constituting an extension of the upper end of the concave, being located above the grain-receiving board, a chatfer located at the rear of the said grate and above the said grain-receiving board, lifting devices for the straw located above the chatter, the chalfer being partially over the grain-receiving board and partially over the eonveyer, substantially as described.

4. In a threshing-machine, the combination with a concave and cylinder and an inclined grain-receiving board extending downward from the inner end of the concave, a conveyercasing meeting the said board, and a conveyer Within the said casing, of a grate constituting an extension of the upper end of the concave, being located above the grain-receiving board, a chafler located at the rear of the said grate and above the said grain-receiving board, lifting devices for the straw located above the chafi'er, the chafler being partially over the grain-receiving board and partially over the conveyer, a beater located above the lifting mechanism and adjacent to the cylinder, a raddle in communication with the straw-lifting mechanism, a bathe-board below the raddle, a drift-board adjustably connected with the bafi'leboard, a riddle, a tan-casing, a :fan within the same, the said fan-casing being provided with an opening connecting with the conveyer-casing, an opening connecting with the riddle, and a spout directed to the drifthoard, all operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two suhscribing witnesses.

LOVIETT TAFT MANN. \Vitnesses:

RUSSELL W mm, James R. GILL. 

